Day Five in Books at African Swimming Championships

DAKAR, Senegal, September 16. DURING the penultimate day of in-pool competition at the African Swimming Championships in Dakar, Senegal, South African boosted its meet-leading medal total to 29 (16G, 6S, 7B). Algerian built on its second-place total to 21 (7G, 7S, 7B), while Tunisia remained in third with 18 (4G, 8S, 6B).

Women’s 50 Breaststroke
South African Tamaryn Laubscher corralled her fifth gold medal of the meet with a triumph in the 50 breast. She touched the wall in 33.33 to beat second-place Meriem Lamri of Algeria’s 34.02 clocking. Lamri barely touched out Moroccan Sara El Bekri for third as El Bekri garnered bronze in 34.05.

Men’s 50 Butterfly
Coming off a huge anchor leg in the 400 freestyle relay in which Salim Iles came-from-behind to win gold for his Algerian team, Iles won again with a 24.75 in the 50 fly. Kenyan Jason Dunford placed second overall with a 24.88, while South African Fouche Venter garnered third in 25.17.

Women’s 200 Butterfly
Algerian Sarah Hadjabderahmane picked up gold in the 200 fly with a 2:16.72 that left no doubt as she touched the wall. Her closest competitor proved to be second-place South African Louise Smyth, who touched well behind in 2:19.26. Tunisian Mariem Meddeb placed third in 2:24.06 to round out the podium.

Hadjabderahmane built a nearly two-second lead at the 100-meter mark with a 1:05.85 against Smyth’s 1:07.11.

Men’s 200 IM
Tunisia owned the men’s 200 IM with a top-two sweep as Taki M’Rabet touched out his compatriot Ahmed Mathlouthi by .15 seconds to pocket gold. Overall, M’Rabet clocked a 2:06.84, while Mathlouthi recorded a 2:06.99 for silver. Algerian Mehdi Hamama closed out the top three with a bronze-winning 2:07.14.

After pushing out to a three-second advantage at the 100-meter mark with a 58.95 split, M’Rabet held on for dear life as Mathlouthi stormed back from a 1:01.98 100-meter split to nearly win the event.

Men’s 200 Backstroke
Kenyan David Dunford won a tightly-contested 200 back with a 2:06.48. South African Stuart Rogers placed just behind in 2:06.74, while Algerian Naoufel Benabid snared bronze with a 2:06.93.

In the second straight hard-fought final, Dunford nearly gave up a two-second first-half lead. The Kenyan staked himself to that advantage with a 1:00.94 over the first 100 meters, while Rogers touched at the halfway mark with a 1:02.73.

Men’s 400 Medley Relay
The South Africans broke up the Algerian relay party by denying the Algerians a relay sweep in the 400 medley relay. The South African contingent of Stuart Rogers, Thabang Moeketsane, Fouche Venter and Shaun Harris raced to victory in 3:46.52. Meanwhile, the Algerian team of Naoufel Benabid, Sofiane Daid, Nabil Kebbab and Salim Iles snagged silver in 3:49.12, while the Egyptian quartet of Mohamed Tarek Salah, Ayman Khatab, Ahmed Salah and Abdel Rahman A. Bakr nabbed bronze in 3:53.34.

Rogers opened the triumphant race for the South Africans with a 58.95 in the backstroke leg, before Moeketsane recorded a 1:02.47 in the breaststroke leg. Venter then registered a 54.72 split in the butterfly leg, before Harris brought it home with a 50.38 freestyle leg.

Men's 1500 Freestyle
South African Chad Ho won the event in a dominant 15:52.52, while Egyptian Mohamed Magdy placed second in 16:03.21. Tunisian Ahmed Mathlouhti rounded out the top three with a bronze-winning 16:07.11.

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